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SINGAPORE: Thirty-one new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Singapore as of noon on Wednesday (January 6), the Ministry of Health (MOH) said.
Two are cases of local transmission in the community, the ministry said, adding that no new infections were found in the bedrooms of foreign workers.
Both community cases are currently unrelated.
The first case is a 24-year-old man from South Korea. The work permit holder, known as Case 59028, is the only symptomatic case of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday.
She works at the Azur restaurant at the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport.and his work entailsDelivery of packaged meals to aircrew and hotel guests. He does not interact with diners in the restaurant, the Health Ministry said.
The man tested positive for a combined swab during the routine tests listed on January 2. He was tested again on January 4 and began to develop symptoms of an acute respiratory infection the same day.
His individual test result came back positive for COVID-19 infection on January 5 and was taken to the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID). His serological test was negative, indicating that it is likely a current infection, the Health Ministry said.
It also preliminarily tested positive for the B117 strain and is awaiting further confirmation tests, the ministry added.
The Health Ministry previously said on December 23 that “there is currently no evidence that the B117 strain is circulating in the community.”
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The other community case is a 31-year-old Filipino who arrived from the Philippines on December 4 and delivered his stay-at-home notice at a dedicated facility until December 18.
The man, known as Case 59034, tested negative during his pre-departure test in the Philippines on December 1. Another test on Dec. 14 during his stay-at-home notice also came back negative, the Health Ministry said.
“He is a work permit holder who works for Singapore General Hospital, but has not started work yet.
“As part of his pre-employment health examination, he was tested for COVID-19 on January 5 even though he is asymptomatic and tested positive. He was later transferred to SGH in an ambulance. The result of his serological test it came positive, indicating a probable past infection, “the Health Ministry said.
All identified close contacts of the cases, including their family members and coworkers, have been isolated and quarantined. They will also be evaluated at the beginning and end of their quarantine period, the ministry said.
“We will also perform serological tests for close contacts to determine if the case may have been infected by them,” added the Ministry of Health.
12 FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS AMONG IMPORTED CASES
The remaining 29 cases were imported and include a Singaporean and two permanent residents who returned from the UK and India. One of the permanent residents who returned from India is a contact for a previously confirmed case, a Singaporean who also returned from the same country.
Five are holders of work passes that arrived from India, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, while another is holder of a dependent pass that arrived from India.
Sixteen cases are work permit holders who came from India, Indonesia and Myanmar, including 12 foreign domestic workers.
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Three cases are holders of short-term visitation passes. Two of them came from the Philippines and Japan for work projects in Singapore and were swabbed and isolated upon arrival, while the other case traveled from Indonesia to visit her Singaporean spouse.
The remaining case is a member of the sea crew with a special pass, who arrived from China on board a ship. Samples were taken upon arrival in Singapore, the Health Ministry said.
All imported cases were placed on a stay-at-home notice or isolated upon arrival in Singapore.
The Ministry of Health also added several new locations to its list of places visited by COVID-19 cases during its infectious period.
These places include Cold Storage and Spotlight at Plaza Singapura, as well as various stores at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands.
The COVID-19 cases also visited restaurants such as Jinjja Chicken Restaurant in Northpoint City in Yishun, Marche Movenpick Restaurant at 313 @ somerset, and Ya Kun Kaya Toast Cafe in People’s Park Center.
24 more patients discharged
The Health Ministry said the total number of new cases in the community has risen from two cases in the previous week to 12 cases in the last week.
The number of unrelated cases in the community has also increased from two cases in the previous week to five cases in the last week.
Twenty-four more cases have been discharged from hospitals or community isolation facilities, bringing Singapore’s total recoveries to 58,541.
There are still 64 cases in the hospital. Most of them are stable or improving and one is in the intensive care unit. Another 146 are being isolated and cared for in community facilities.
As of Wednesday, Singapore has reported a total of 58,780 COVID-19 cases and 29 deaths from the disease.
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Two foreigners who traveled to Singapore have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the reciprocal green lane agreement, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said on Tuesday.
Gan was answering a parliamentary question from a member of Parliament for Sengkang He Ting Ru.
Ms He asked how many Singaporeans and foreigners traveling under the green lane scheme had tested positive for COVID-19 during the 48-hour period of self-isolation upon arrival.
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As of December 26 last year, about 2,500 people arrived in Singapore via seven reciprocal green lanes, Gan said.
He added that the two foreigners, both from Japan, were detected during the mandatory COVID-19 test on arrival for travelers under the green lane scheme.
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